Apple Ipad Feedback Please

[pgchin]

I am contemplating a total personal "infrastructure" change in the next 60-90 days. Contracts are up and my personal life is undergoing change by years end ! I have a iphone 3gs I got about 2 years ago to "play" with and try the technology and am kinda enamored with it, ease of use, apps, security, etc. I'd like people with Ipad experience to please post their pro's and cons so I can get a wider view in order to make an informed decision. In particular, typing on it and using it under an awning in bright light, etc......... compared to a laptop or more conventional equipment. How well it "plays" with an iphone, etc. What you can and can't do with them compared to a laptop, etc.Thanks in advance for the help!

[Ms. Bee]

Just a few comments and more later, Pete.

Firstly I like my iPad, and Dee uses his on the Bird as his GPS. It's very portable.

Doesn't do well visually in the sun. I don't like one finger typing/poking so we got a case for mine with an keyboard, so allieves that.

For some things, I do prefer my laptop, (which is presently none functional, as it burnt through a third power cord). Such as doing email searches. I find that ackward on the iPad, though not impossible. Also for typing longer docs.

I also like the camera on my iPad. Darrell has the earlier version, which didn't have one. You can email, facebook pics directly from your gallery, but I'm still learning how to do some of that.

Long and short, the iPad is great, especially for traveling, laying in bed, or sitting in a chair because of it's small size, but if you still have a functional laptop, I wouldn't ditch it because there may be some things you prefer to do on that, such as dwgs etc.

The other thing I like about the iPad, is that you can expand the page with just your hand for closer, magnified viewing. Good if your eyesight is no longer the best.

Hope this helps. Am sure others will add to this.

Jen

[Itchintogo]

Hi Pete,

I have all Mac computers and have had for years. Slick interface and the reliability factors are very good. I still have a Powerbook G4 that still functions and it is 10 years old. That lap top was used 24/7 for everything including business the first 6 years I had it. It owes me nothing. I have a Powerbook that is about 5 years old and is still going strong. They fixed the motherboard 1.5 years ago free of charge even though there was no warranty because they knew there was problem with certain series. 1150 dollar repair. You won't find many PC manufacturers doing that. So Apple has been good to me. I also have a fairly new iMac 27 inch screen and it is beautiful.

I know the latest iPad was a big improvement with the inclusion of flash among other things for better website access. I suspect you will find it will sync with your phone very well. Apple is pretty good at that.

One thing I would make you aware of is security of your current phone. It really is not that great. To my understanding there are many hackers ( particularly in Malayasia for some reason ) that can access an iPhone. Hence the reason the US President and the UK Prime Minister and most people of the middle east have Blackberries. Very secure platform. Remember in some of the unrest last year during some protests the regimes were finding people and hauling them away and they found mostly those who had iPhones or other devices and were blogging.

I own neither an iPhone nor Blackberry. I switched from Blackberry last year to Android. Not secure either but what have I really got to hide. A little off topic but I wanted to make you aware of your phone. It is something Apple won't talk about.

[pgchin]

Jenn and Gary,
Thank you both SO MUCH!!!!!!! Outstanding feedback from both of you!!!!!! Exactly what I was looking for.
Jenn, thanks for the "usability info" perfect!!!!!!! I am a 2 - 4 finger typer and still need to look at the keys, can you BELIEVE IT, me!!!!! Have been for decades and don't plan to change! LONG story but I failed typing class back in High School when I was 17, too many pretty girls to stare at and talk to. HONEST to God TRUE story!!!! "Bad DOG PEETEEE" ( Ya gotta remember I went to school during the "stone age" so it was a bit different than it is today) :-)
Gary, thanks, and thanks for the security info. Yeah, I was aware of what you describe, not sure what we can do, Donna's yahoo emial server got hacked by the same people you mentioned and all the email addy's on the server got whacked! That's why we log in every day and check the log in history. When it happened, yep she "logged" in from Malaysia! DUH, she's either figured out how travel like star treck or she has a twin in Malaysia!!! Thanks for the great feedback!

[davidbrady]

That's too funny Pete. I failed typing too, but I am now a full ten finger typist (years of guitar playing helps). My teacher berated me in front of the class. She'd say, "David, what are you ever going to make of your life"! True story!

I love my ipad. The problem is so do my kids. I can't pry it out of their sticky little fingers. So I find myself clinging to my Android Razor and I find that the Razor is a very good substitute for the ipad, that is, if you have good close range vision.

Everything Ms. Bee said is right on, the ipad is terrible to type on. I find my Razor to be much better. Not good in the sunlight. Not great with email.

I also noticed, and I might be wrong, that the later versions (2, 3, etc) aren't as tough as my version 1. My kids use it as a skate board. It's been dropped so many times I can't count. The cover is the flimsy silicon one and that's all it's ever had - the cover's in tatters. The screen has never had a protector and it's still virtually scratch free. For a day I owned an Ipad version 3. I dropped it and the screen popped out. I took it back and I never did replace it. Just a pet peeve, how can folks buy these wondrous devices and then shield them with screen protectors and chainlink cases? Oops, I guess old butter-fingers-me knows the answer to that.

[pgchin]

(02-26-2013 14:26)davidmbrady Wrote:  That's too funny Pete. I failed typing too, but I am now a full ten finger typist (years of guitar playing helps). My teacher berated me in front of the class. She'd say, "David, what are you ever going to make of your life"! True story!

I love my ipad. The problem is so do my kids. I can't pry it out of their sticky little fingers. So I find myself clinging to my Android Razor and I find that the Razor is a very good substitute for the ipad, that is, if you have good close range vision.

Everything Ms. Bee said is right on, the ipad is terrible to type on. I find my Razor to be much better. Not good in the sunlight. Not great with email.

I also noticed, and I might be wrong, that the later versions (2, 3, etc) aren't as tough as my version 1. My kids use it as a skate board. It's been dropped so many times I can't count. The cover is the flimsy silicon one and that's all it's ever had - the cover's in tatters. The screen has never had a protector and it's still virtually scratch free. For a day I owned an Ipad version 3. I dropped it and the screen popped out. I took it back and I never did replace it. Just a pet peeve, how can folks buy these wondrous devices and then shield them with screen protectors and chainlink cases? Oops, I guess old butter-fingers-me knows the answer to that.

Thanks Davids for your candid feedback! I REALLY appreciate it! Both you and Gary have me rethinking my phone upgrade choice. I really like Ray's app so and I really want to let Donna navigate with an IPAD so I'll probably stick with the IPAD. I told Donna last night, I'm glad I have to wait until the end of March to decide, give's me time AND patience to make the correct choice! I'm usually like a kid in a candy store!

Guitar huh...... figures! I truly believe you were correct in your welcome post, we REALLY are alter ego's of each other (meant in the best possible complimentary way)!!!! When I turned 50 I read an article that said you should do ordinary tasks like brushing your teeth with the opposite hand, play guitar, etc from the way you do now so your brain continues to learn new things and you use different parts of your brain and passage ways. So I got a student guitar and being a south paw, play it righty! I also play like I type. I even tried to motivate myself by saying if you get good, hop on out to southern callie to the guitar salon international and get a Ramirez! No dice, at my current learning rate, I'll be 120 before I'm good enough to warrant such a fine instrument! I'm also glad we did not grow up in the same neighborhood! I can hear both of our mother's now if we did......" You can no longer play and hang out with that boy, you are ALWAYS getting yourselves into trouble and we are tired of coming to the principles office to bail your butts' out of detention"!!!!!!!!!!! hahahahahaha

[Ms. Bee]

That's too funny, both Pete and David about learning to type.
I had a fear of learning to type. A fear that that learned skill might someday, make me someone's secretary.
So never took typing or learned in high school.

Handwrote all my papers in college (a) and had to pay someone to type them for me before I could turn them in. Finally in the late 80's, I got my first real puter which cost several thousand dollars back then , I think four. That was after the Atare, and back when you had to know DOS to operate it, and holy cow it had 10 megabytes and was expandable to 20. But then who would ever need all of those???

And so I decide I would learn how to type, just for myself and I bought Mavis Beacon teaches typing. It was a fun program. You had to learn the proper hand placement and the right fanger to use for each key, and no cheating. You weren't supposed to look down. But I did a bit at the beginning until I became more stern w myself.

The thing you would have liked about it Pete, is that once you got the hand and finger placement, it became a race car game. There was a screen with you in one car and a competitor. The faster you typed the faster your car went, and there was a speedometer at the top, so you could tell when you were really flying, but you got dinged for spelling mistakes. Car would slow down but you could regain your momentum. I really liked it.

I don't know what they have 'nowadays' but that program really worked for me!

[Endless Summer]

Until I bought an iPad, I used a Mac Mini. Now I use the iPad 90% of the time, but use the Mini mostly for things like Quicken and Excel. And I agree with Jen that mail search on the iPad is not quite adequate.

I put a number of Wanderlodge diagrams and schematics on my iPad via Dropbox, and that has been useful. With the high quality Retina display, they are actually easier to read than on a desktop monitor, plus I can carry them around the bus with me while I track things down.

My wife uses an iPad 100% of the time. She likes using it in the kitchen and in the grocery store for recipes.

[pgchin]

(02-26-2013 17:29)Endless Summer Wrote:  Until I bought an iPad, I used a Mac Mini. Now I use the iPad 90% of the time, but use the Mini mostly for things like Quicken and Excel. And I agree with Jen that mail search on the iPad is not quite adequate.

I put a number of Wanderlodge diagrams and schematics on my iPad via Dropbox, and that has been useful. With the high quality Retina display, they are actually easier to read than on a desktop monitor, plus I can carry them around the bus with me while I track things down.

My wife uses an iPad 100% of the time. She likes using it in the kitchen and in the grocery store for recipes.

Many thanks Steve for the feedback!!! the apps you mention and the uses both you and your wife provided me with was WONDERFUL feedback and right on concerning what we may want to do, thanks again!

[Itchintogo]

(02-26-2013 17:29)Endless Summer Wrote:  Until I bought an iPad, I used a Mac Mini. Now I use the iPad 90% of the time, but use the Mini mostly for things like Quicken and Excel. And I agree with Jen that mail search on the iPad is not quite adequate.

I put a number of Wanderlodge diagrams and schematics on my iPad via Dropbox, and that has been useful. With the high quality Retina display, they are actually easier to read than on a desktop monitor, plus I can carry them around the bus with me while I track things down.

My wife uses an iPad 100% of the time. She likes using it in the kitchen and in the grocery store for recipes.

I use an app called Evernote to synch all my devices and love it. I also use Dropbox as well for larger files and big Docs. Evernote I use mostly for lists. I generally make a list at my desk and when I am out and about I have that list on my phone at the parts store, grocery store or what have you. It is compatible with most platforms. It also works great when you are out and about and remember something you want to do when you get home. You can put it in on your phone to remind you.